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I interlaced our fingers—not fucking caring what anyone thought—and headed towards the kitchen.
CHAPTER 13
Ella
For the second time this school year, I was standing in front of the Delta Sig house, a party waiting for me inside. Except this time, I also knewwhowas waiting for me on the other side, and it felt completely different.
“Audrey.”
“Hm?” She turned to look at me, her cheeks slightly pink from the pre-gaming we’d done before coming.
“Don’t let me make a mistake tonight.”
“If you’re asking me to make sure you end up in your room at the end of the night, Ell, I’m afraid I can’t promise that.”
Right.Myroom, because in the last week, I’d slowly moved all of my stuff. It was weird, separating all our clothes for the first time. We shared so many things—shoes, pants, hair accessories—and now, everything that had once been a pair was now all alone.
There was one perk, though: my new room also had a queen sized bed.
I was trying not to think too hard about the one in Cameron’s room, the one I definitely wouldnotfind myself in tonight.
“I can’t sleep with him again,” I muttered under my breath.Be strong, Ella. You can do this.
It would be a disastrous mistake. One I couldn’t take back.
“Ready?” she asked, her hand wrapped around the doorknob.
I nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”
Bringing the rim of the plastic cup to my lips, I let the sweet taste of raspberry lemonade and vodka explode on my tongue. He’d remembered. Of course he did.
I wasn’t sure how I should feel about that. Maybe it had only been a few weeks, but it felt like he was constantly learning new things about me and tucking them away, like if only he could get a few more pieces, that he could assemble the puzzle that wasme.
The worst part was he was right. I’d worn this damn dress for him, wanting him to pay attention to me. Wanting him to look at me like he was right now.
Andwhy? I struggled to keep my composure around him. Maybe that was why I kept pushing him away. Why I kept insisting on this game between us. I needed to feel like I had some sort of upper ground, some foothold in this rivalry we’d created. Because if not, I’d have to admit the truth to myself, and that was not happening.
“Thank you,” I said, though my voice wasn’t as steady as I would have liked, and I hated how fast the alcohol seemed to affect my system.
That was the only explanation for how doe-eyed I currently felt.
“Of course, Ella.”
God, I loved how he said my name. When he called me Princess, it was one thing, butElla,in that deep, masculine voice ofhis… I wanted to melt.
I took another gulp of my drink, the smooth slide of the vodka down my throat distracting me from my thoughts.
He looked too good tonight. So good that I was forgetting why we’d been competing. Why I’d been determined to make him my rival. Why I couldn’t fall back into his bed.
Friends with benefits could be fun, right?
He was wearing a dark gray henley and jeans, which shouldnothave been delicious, but then I thought about how I’d explored his body, how he’d felt on top of me, and…
I shivered, but not from the cold.
“We should probably get back out there,” I murmured, hands still wrapped around my cup so I couldn’t reach for him.
“We should,” he agreed.
